History of Thriller Genre

 History of Thriller 

Thriller became a distinct style in the 1800s and early 1900s. Alfred Hitchcock’s films such as ‘Psycho’ and ‘Vertigo’ were integral to the popularity of thriller, and inspired filmmakers and storytellers to create their own. The aim of thriller is to heighten the audience's anxiety, anticipation, surprise, and shock using literary devices such as; unreliable narrators, red herrings, plot twists, and cliffhangers to build suspense. Suspense allows audiences to feel elated apprehension of future events, with many theories surveying their heads slowly leading up to either the satisfaction of being correct, or sudden realisation of a mind-blowing twist. Most thrillers utilise the red herrings to create an additional overpowering element of surprise, where audiences are shocked at outcomes, causing them to think deeply about their analytical reasonings towards the plot. There are numerous subgenres that accompany a thriller including; thriller drama, sci-fi thriller, psychological thriller, crime thriller, romantic thriller, historical thriller, etc. The list continues to develop constantly, with multiple subgenres being created and developed each day.  

TV Thrillers 

Boris Karloff’s ‘Thriller’ was one of the most prominent original thriller series to be aired on TV. It was made in the early 1960s, and included the perfect mix of subgenres (gothic horror and crime drama), to emphasise the air of mystery and gruesome suspense being built. Unlike chronological series in the modern day, ‘Thriller’ was anthological, meaning each episode was a new short story, making a collection of unique narratives under a single theme and style. It was aired on multiple TV stations, and had over 30 episodes in each season; this largely contrasts to the conventions of streamed TV shows today, where most contain 8-10 episodes that are 40 minutes long. This is because modern audiences have a shorter attention span, yet also impatience, meaning that they are prone to binging series they can quickly get through. A popular crime thriller released in the 90s, and now available on ITVX is ‘Touching Evil’ which follows the story of organised crime. Older thriller series like these were primarily targeted towards adult men from 25-50, due to the violent nature of the storylines and sexualisation of women. In modern day TV thrillers, we are often shown strong, powerful, independent female characters to appeal to a wider audience of women, along with a portrayal of teenagers to invest younger people into the world of thriller. An example of this is ‘The Last of Us’, starring Pedro Pascal (a middle-aged Latin-American actor) and Bella Ramsey (a young British non-binary actor, portraying a female teenager), where an apocalyptic setting draws the protagonists together in a paternal relationship to courageously save the world, and each other. The opposition of gender, age, and ethnicity entices a number of audiences, highlighting the progression of thriller series to be both increasingly suspenseful and inclusive.